Leadership and Rules of Engagement

Company policies about employee conduct can only go so far because they are imposed from above – and few people truly internalize external rules.  In other blogs we’ve written about the futility of trying to control behavior, especially for those creative “out of the box” thinkers.  One of the most important aspects of vibrant, accountable, respectful, and productive work cultures is the presence of behavioral norms, or “rules of engagement.”  These are the guidelines that employees create together, enforce together, and internalize for themselves and their peers.  A core competency of a good leader is the ability to facilitate behavioral norms for their group.  All of our work with teams includes the co-creation of behavioral norms, and coaching in how to develop, define, and enforce these norms within the team.

For an example of one company using behavioral norms, click here.

Download PDF Version